September 24, 2019
Friday Was Jeans Day -- Thank You!
Last Friday we received donations totaling $1,167.60 for Jeans Day. By sending the money to ADRA , an anonymous donor doubled our gift, so the total we were able to raise specifically for the hurricane victims in the Bahamas amounted to $2,335.20 . Thank you SBJA!
This is the last week to order for our Fall Fundraiser
Remember, we only have TWO fundraisers per year -- all the proceeds in the fall go to the individual classrooms.
What to drink with meals?
What we eat and drink plays a very large part in our overall health, both physical health and brain health. When children eat "junk" their brain is obviously compromised, so here at South Bay Junior Academy, we want to be sure our students develop good habits all the way around, food and drink included.

Here's what the experts at the world famous Cleveland Clinic say about what children should and shouldn't drink:

The Best and Worst Drinks to Keep Kids Hydrated
Kids are busy. Their minds and bodies are hard at work and play — and sometimes, they don’t want to stop to get a drink.

It often becomes our job as parents to make sure they drink enough fluids. It’s especially important in warmer months when kids may not notice how much they are sweating or understand the need for hydration.
They may be drawn to the nearest vending machine for a sugar-laden beverage. Clearly, this isn’t the best choice. On average, a 12-oz serving of soda contains 36 grams (or about four teaspoons) of sugar and about 160 calories.
“What you give your child will significantly impact their daily calories and overall weight,” says pediatric registered dietitian Sara Seither, MS, RD, CSP, LD.

You may also be concerned about your child consuming  caffeine . The amount of caffeine in energy drinks varies between brands, but can be as high as 130 milligrams in a 12-oz serving — equivalent to four 12-oz servings of caffeinated soda.

So, what should kids drink? Here are some suggestions as well as other common beverages children should avoid.

Thumbs up
These plain-Jane options are generally the most hydrating and offer the most benefit to kids:

  • Water. Plain old water is the best way to go. “It provides hydration and quenches thirst without adding any calories, fat or sugar,” Ms. Seither says. (If you need some ideas to jazz up your child’s water without making it unhealthy, keep reading.).
  • Milk. “Milk is an important part of any diet,” Ms. Seither says. Milk provides protein, vitamin D and calcium. Kids should drink 16-24 ounces of milk or unsweetened milk alternative such as soy, coconut, almond milk daily. Talk to your pediatrician about whether your child would benefit from milk containing fat.

Thumbs down
These sugary, colorful drinks often don’t offer enough benefit to offset the empty calories:

  • Flavored milk. One carton of chocolate or other flavored milk adds four teaspoons of sugar to your child’s diet.  “Bottom line: This sugary beverage provides added calories that are simply not needed,” Ms. Seither says.
  • Fruit drinks. Drinks such as fruit punch, powdered mixes, lemonade and pouch drinks are simply sugar water, Ms Seither says. “Do not be fooled by nutrition claims that each serving contains 100 percent vitamin C,” she says. If your child is eating five cups of fruits and vegetables every day, he or she is getting plenty of vitamin C.
  • Soft drinks. Soft drinks, soda, pop — or whatever you call them, these sugar-laden beverages offer zero nutritional benefit. “Soft drinks are linked to poor dental health, excessive calorie intake, weight gain and type 2 diabetes,” Ms. Seither says. Many of these drinks contain caffeine, which children should avoid.
  • Sports drinks. These drinks promise the “ultimate hydration,” Ms Seither says. But the average child does not need the nearly eight teaspoons of sugar that each 20-ounce bottle contains.

In moderation
100 percent fruit juice.  Experts agree that limiting your child to four to six ounces of 100 percent fruit juice each day is important for a healthy weight. “Yes, real fruit juice contains only natural sugars — but those natural sugars can add a lot of extra calories quickly,” Ms. Seither says.

Ways to jazz up your child’s water
  • A tall glass of cool water infused with natural flavors. Try adding berries with mint leaves, a citrus blend, cucumber and melon, or apples with a cinnamon stick. You can work with your child to create fun combinations.
  • Make lemonade with agave nectar instead of sugar. Agave nectar has the same number of calories as sugar, but because it is sweeter, people tend to use less of it.
Every week a post will appear in the Seabreeze from Michael Pollan's book "Food Rules." (I encourage all who want to be healthy themselves, and want to raise a healthy child to buy a copy.) However, in the meantime, you can get a weekly glimpse of how we all ought to be choosing food!

Rule #1
Eat food.
These days this is easier said than done, especially when 17,000 new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don't deserve to be called food -- I call them edible food like substances. They're highly processed concoctions designed by food scientists, consisting mostly of ingredients derived from corn and soy that no normal person keeps in the pantry, and they contain chemical additives with which the human body has not been long acquainted. Today much of the challenge of eating well comes down to choosing real food and avoiding these industrial novelties.
Some after-school opportunities
Mondays


Wednesdays
Jiu Jitsu
(310-484-4613)

(or 310-779-6119)

Thursdays


Fridays

October 11, 11:30 am
Please extend an invitation to all students' grandparents.
Check out our Facebook page
If you want to see what's going on at SBJA, go to our Facebook page where Ms. Francey Marzicola posts photos and information daily. Here is a good "bird's eye view" of our school program.
Wed-Fri, 9/25-9/27
Catalina, Eighth Grade Outdoor Science School

Wed-Fri, 10/2-10/4
Seventh Grade Science Camp

Thur, 10/3
Parenting Class, 6:30 pm

Fri, 10/11
Grandparents Day, 11:30 am
South Bay Junior Academy | office@sbja.com| 310-370-6215 | www.sbja.com